German Exports and Imports Increase in April

German government data released on Wednesday showed a 15.7 percent increase in exports over last April to €62.1 billion ($75.5 billion) while imports rose 6.8 percent year-on-year to €47.5 billion. The resulting €14.6 billion trade surplus in April 2004 compared with €9.2 billion in the corresponding month in 2003. The Federal Statistics Office revealed that for the first four months of 2004, German exports totalled €239.3 billion, up almost 11 percent from €216.5 billion in the same period last year. Imports, at €183.5 billion, were up about 3 percent from €178.0 billion in the January-April 2003 period. The overall figures show that the foreign trade remains the one vital sector for Germany, which is having trouble getting its domestic economy moving again, analysts noted.